Group communication device and method

ABSTRACT

A method for voice based communication between a number of mobile terminals of a telecommunication network, the method comprising the steps of creating a group of said number of terminals and storing group information in each of the number of terminals, recording a voice message in one of the terminals of the group, dispatching the voice message to the terminals of the group from the one of the terminals, and receiving the voice message at at least all other terminals of the group. The step of creating a group of terminals further comprises the steps of coupling together a number of mobile terminals, intiating a group creation command from at least one of the terminals, sending predetermined information from terminal to terminal to each terminal of the number of terminals for forming a group information, and transmitting the group information to all of the terminals thus forming a group of the terminals.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates to a group communication method and adevice, a method for forming of a group of terminal devices and a methodfor listening a message between members of an established group and amethod for sending a message between members of an established group.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

[0002] Advances in telecommunications systems technology have resultedin a variety of systems and services being available for system users.These systems include cellular telephone systems providing mobiletelephone services. The cellular telephone systems provide services thatallow subscribers to these systems to increase their accessibility andbe reachable, potentially at all times, and as long as the subscribersremain in the service areas covered by their systems.

[0003] In a cellular system, a person desiring to contact the cellularsubscriber would simply dial the phone number of the cellular subscriberto contact the subscriber at the subscribers cellular telephone. As longas the cellular subscriber kept the cellular telephone powered on thesubscriber would be accessible when located within the coverage area ofthe cellular system.

[0004] Normally the system sets up a call between the cellular telephoneor a so-called mobile terminal and another mobile terminal or asubscriber of a public switched telephone network PSTN. Dialing thesubscriber number of the mobile terminal or the like sets up a call tothe given mobile terminal. In group calls the whole group is called witha single dialed number, i.e. a group number. A group call is aconference call in which all participants may talk in turn and hear oneanother. An individual mobile radio may belong to a plurality of groupsprogrammed into the mobile radio. The system keeps a file on the basestations associated with the group number of each group. A group callmay cover one, several or all base stations within the area of a mobileexchange or a plurality of mobile exchanges.

[0005] Some mobile networks include short message services, e.g. SMS isa bi-directional service in GSM for short alphanumeric messages or datain similar form. In SMS it is possible to deliver a message to themobile terminal even during an established call, or to deliver a messageusing so-called store-and-forward service, in which the message isstored in the network, if the mobile terminal is unavailable, andforwarded shortly after the mobile terminal can be reached again. In thetraditional GSM system dataservices are based on circuit switchedtechnology providing maximum data transfer rate of 9.6 kbit/s fortransparent and non-transparent bearer services for data communication.Along with an increasing data volume, demand for higher transfer rateshas arisen so that the GSM has been developed to include as an extensionthe so-called General Packet Radio service (GPRS) as a packet switcheddata service.

[0006] Current solutions use names (e-mail) or telephone numbers(phones) to identify receivers which the user or an administrator mustinput to the system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] One drawback of using a cellular system to remain accessibleovertime is that cellular airtime charges may be expensive, even forcalls made from a second party to the cellular telephone. Especially ina family with many mobile phones the costs will raise quite high. Alsothe calls between the young people will go high, as they usually want tokeep contact quite often and continuously with friends. This sameapplies to the people who wish to communicate with the people who areclose regarding work, hobbies, and school and want only to communicatewith certain team members. Also the need for a simple communication withsimple terminals exists in order to establish communication betweengroup members. Also to define a group, i.e. to define which members cancommunicate with each other has been quite difficult especially afterone has bought his/her phone. Especially for children there is a realneed for cheap terminals in order to avoid harms after the terminal ispossibly lost or it has been broken due to the fall of the phone. Thereis also a great need for communication between people, in a way not tooverload the network, and, however, so that the subscribers can bereached easily and reliably. Further the younger people who are membersof teams or other groups want to have a common communication terminaland communication way for their group

[0008] The present invention introduces a new method and terminal,preferably a wireless communication terminal, for sending voice messagesto a group of terminals as one single transmission from the sendingterminal. Preferably a cellular telephone network is used for thewireless communication. Also the present invention provides a method forcreating a group of terminals by coupling together a number of mobileterminals and initiating a group creation command to pass each of thecoupled terminals in order to form a group information. The coupling maybe a wireless or physical coupling, and the group information ispreferably sent to a server connected to the network which stores andupdates the group information and after group establishment passesmessages to the terminals of the group.

[0009] According to a preferred embodiment of the terminal according tothe invention accessibility is aimed at by a simple user interfacedesign, an approachable simple appearance, a wearable lightweight, asmall and robust body. The method is a voice messaging delivery systemthat enables service providers to offer portable two-way communicationservices over cellular networks. It is possible to use the mobile phonealso as to group mode by selecting a predetermined key for thecommunication within the group. One-key selection makes it easy tocontact the other group members. The invention makes possible tocommunicate between terminals, which have a non-conventional keypad, orbetween the terminals which have keypad or display and the terminals,which have neither display nor keypad for number dialing. The terminaldoes not need to know the actual members of a particular group. Asresult the terminal can be designed easy to use and cheap to produce. Itis usable for remote working teams (e.g. field engineering, fishing,agriculture), and e.g. for elderly people's security.

[0010] Further the invention is assumed to be suitable especially foryoung children who have a relatively limited number of reference groups.

[0011] According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided amethod for voice based communication between a number of mobileterminals of a telecommunication network, said method comprising thesteps of,

[0012] creating a group of said number of terminals and storing groupinformation in each of said number of terminals,

[0013] recording a voice message in one of said terminals of said group,dispatching the voice message to said terminals of said group from saidone of said terminals, and

[0014] receiving the voice message at at least all other terminals ofsaid group.

[0015] According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided amethod for establishing a group of mobile terminals said methodcomprising the steps of:

[0016] coupling together a number of mobile terminals,

[0017] intiating a group creation command from at least one of saidterminals,

[0018] sending predetermined information from terminal to terminal toeach terminal of said number of terminals for forming a groupinformation,

[0019] transmitting the group information to all of said terminals thusforming a group of said terminals.

[0020] According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided amethod for sending a message from a mobile terminal to a group of mobileterminals of a telecommunication network, said method comprising thesteps of

[0021] selecting at the mobile terminal the group of a number ofpredetermined groups,

[0022] allowing the user of the mobile terminal to speak a message,

[0023] transmitting the recorded message to a server,

[0024] storing at the server information on the terminals of the groupof terminals, and further transmitting the message to each terminal ofsaid group of terminals from the server based on said information.

[0025] According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided amethod for receiving a message at a mobile terminal of atelecommunication, said method comprising the steps of

[0026] receiving a voice message comprising a recorded message,

[0027] indicating to the user of the terminal that a message has beenreceived,

[0028] further indicating to the user of the terminal that the receivedmessage is from a terminal belonging to a certain group of a number ofpredetermined groups,

[0029] allowing the user to give an input to the terminal, and uponreceiving said input playing back the received recorded voice message atthe terminal.

[0030] According to a fifth aspect of the invention there is provided aa wireless voice communication terminal for a radio communicationnetwork, said terminal comprising

[0031] a recorder for recording a voice message,

[0032] means for storing a terminal communication group definitiondefining a number of terminals belonging to the same communicationgroup, and

[0033] means for sending said recorded voice message to said number ofterminals of said communication group as single transmission from thewireless voice communication terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034]FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a communications network.

[0035]FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example of theinformation of one group.

[0036]FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of relevant portions of aterminal according to the invention.

[0037]FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of the creation of a group.

[0038]FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of a further possibility to forma group.

[0039]FIG. 6 illustrates the operating principle of physical contactbased terminal grouping and the data flow within an array of terminalsin group forming.

[0040]FIG. 7 illustrates a message example of the information sent tothe communication server when forming a group.

[0041]FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the terminal of the inventionschematically.

[0042]FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram showing sending of a message.

[0043]FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram showing sending of a message.

[0044]FIGS. 11A, 11B and 11C show example of the menu shown in thedisplay when a message is recorded.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045]FIG. 1 shows both a circuit and switched telecommunicationsnetwork. The network comprises a number of base stations (BTSs) 2, 4etc. Each base station has a radio transceiver capable of transmittingradio signals to and receiving radio signals from the area of anassociated cell. By means of these signals the base station cancommunicate with the mobile terminal 5, 6 in the associated cell, e.g.Nokia 2110. The terminals 7, 8, 9, 10 represent terminals according tothe present invention and will be discussed in more detail later in thisdescription. Each terminal includes a radio transceiver, respectively.Each base station 2, 4 is connected via a base station controller (BSC)11, 12 to mobile switching center (MSC) 13 which is linked in turn tothe public telephone network (PSTN) 14 to other mobile switching centers(not shown). The MSC is linked to service controlling point SCP 16 inorder to reach the Intelligent network services. A short message servicecenter (SMSC) 17 for providing short message services may be connectedto the MSC. All the terminals are preferably identified by a phonenumber or similar address information, which are maintained in HLR homelocation register that is stored separately in the network. VLR (VisitorLocation Register) has the information of the user when the user isoutside its own HLR area. The HLR, which may contain in the MSCsubscriber information, is enhanced with GPRS subscriber information.The HLR contains e.g. the following information IMSI, which is theidentifier of the mobile phone, and MSISDN, which is the basic MSISDN ofthe MS. The user information may include information that the mobile hasthe voice message communication service or the SMS service. By means ofthis system a user of the mobile terminal can establish a telephone callor corresponding connection to a destination which can be a subscriberin the PSTN or another mobile terminal in a mobile network or even aterminal in a computer network. The group communication voice calls canbe realized using e.g. server connected to the network and keepingrecord of the groups. Then the user having a mobile terminal dials thenumber for that service or sends a short message from his/her mobiletelephone. The exchange recognizes that the number dialed that theidentifier of the message terminal is a trigger to IN services and thecalls are routed to the intelligent network's database or register. Thenumbers like 0800 and the like are usually routed to the IN. Thefunctionality of exchange (e.g. MSC) will be called service-switchingpoint. Then in the intelligent network there is a register, which hasthe information of the group concerned in order to deliver the messageto the recipients of the group.

[0046] The FIG. 1 further illustrates network elements of the GPRSnetwork structure. The GPRS network is described in detail in ETSIstandard GSM 03.60 V6.2.0. In GPRS a packet-mode technique is used fortransferring data and signaling. GPRS's interworking is defined with IPnetworks and X.25 networks. SMS can be sent over GPRS radio channels. Inthe network the Service GPRS Support Node (SGSN) is keeping track of themobile terminals' location. The SGSN is connected to the base stationsystem. The Gateway GSN (GGSN) is interworking packet-switched networkslike company intranets and datanetworks. GGSN is connected with SGSNsvia an IP-based GPRS-backbone network. It will be understood that evenif it is described as a way of an example GSM and GPRS, the network canbe CDMA, W-CDMA, PHS, EDGE, UMTS etc.

[0047]FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of the information that onecommunication group will have in a register. The information may belocated in a service control point (SCP), which is connected to the MSCas shown in FIG. 1. A key to the information in the one group'sinformation is a group identifier (id) 114, which may be provided by thecommunication server in the network. The one who has sent groupinformation to the communication server may be identified in thecommunication server, e.g. usually by the telephone number of the mobileterminal e.g. 0408700321 which can be e.g. father's number 110. Thegroup may be called as a family group. The register will comprise thekey number of the mobile phone 116, which means the key through whichthe calling can occur between the group members. The field showingactivity of the group member 118 is usually on or off depending onwhether the member is reachable or not. Further the used time of theservice of a group member can be followed and statement e.g. minutes andseconds used can be presented in the field 120. It is also possible tocollect the number of the connections the group members have been had.This will be shown in the number of messages sent field 122. The phonenumbers or the like 112 will identify all members of group. The numberof the group member is shown in field 108. As only one example is shownit will be understood that the group does not need to have a separatecreator but the group has been created by collegially.

[0048] The table can further include instead of mobile number theaddress of the terminal consisting of the IP (Internet protocol) addressor MSISDN number combined with the information of the name of the groupand/or the names of the group members. The table may be located also ina communication server in the IP network in a service server as in FIG.1, or e.g. in a so called multimedia messaging service center (MMSC) ofNokia. The service may be reached from the GGSN through Firewall orwithout Firewall. Then the functionalities will be group forming andstore and forward capabilities.

[0049] Referring now to FIG. 3 therein is a block diagram showing forthe invention relevant portions of a mobile terminal. The structure of aGSM phone is presented in more detail e.g. in international applicationWO97/02561. A mobile terminal comprises keys (a keypad), display,memory, microphone, speaker, necessary amplifiers and A/D and D/Aconverters, demodulator, modulator, receiver, transmitter, antenna, andcontroller or CPU for controlling the various functions. Further amobile terminal typically comprises battery pack, (which are not shown)keys for receiving and sending messages, means, like illuminating light,for informing a message received. A terminal according to he presentinvention uses its memory for storing an incoming voice message, anduses its keypad for recalling the incoming voice message from thememory. Preferably the mobile terminal according to the invention maycomprise one dedicated illuminated button for each communication group,and a recorder for recording a message. Further the display is includedto support the menu functions to be used in connection with the use ofthe terminal. The terminal preferably may have compressing means forcompressing the recorded message and adapting means including apacketising means for packetising the compressed voice mail message inthe terminal into data packets for packet-switched transmission as isdescribed e.g. in the international application WO9621984, or as knownfrom Nokia 9110 Communicator device. The compressed message is thendelivered to the ISDN address or IP address via a public data network,the GPRS or GSM. The controller (CPU) provides signals to transmitterand receives signals from receiver. The signals may include controlsignals or voice/data communications between MS and cellular system.

[0050] For one communication group there is only one button or key ifthe terminal is constructed by hardware as is shown in FIG. 8. There aresix different group buttons from GR1 to GR6. All interactions to thespecific group in that case are controlled with the one button. Theremay be one dedicated illuminated button for each communication group,whereby the button can be lighted to illustrate that a message has beenreceived from a terminal of that particular group. With one button theuser can form a group, send a voice message to a group, and listen to amessage from a member of a group. When GR1 is illuminating as in FIG. 1,it means that the group has been formed or a voice message is waitingfor playing. The mobile terminal is in one embodiment arranged so thatthe group specific keys will illuminate when the user gets a messagefrom a terminal of that group. The group specific button of the keypadwill illuminate in order to inform the user that a message has beenreceived. The mobile terminal may then have e.g. a separate mode forgroup communication and usual dialing of numbers. A received message isstored and waiting in the voice mail in-box. The terminals according tothe invention according to the invention may be a conventional mobilephone for normal voice or data communication but equipped with the voicemessaging feature or it may be a special voice messaging terminal withless keys and functionalities so that they can easily be used e.g. bythe children.

[0051] Further FIG. 3 shows that the messaging terminal has a datatransmission channel as a which it is possible to use a serial bus(RS-232), a parallel bus (Centronics, an infrared interface or a lowpower RF interface (LPRF) like so called Bluetooth. Alternatively themessaging terminal can have a magnet and a sensor for detecting thepresence of the terminal as will be discussed later.

[0052] One group member can be a member of many different groups. Themobile phone will have many group ids. Therefore in order to control thememberships of one mobile terminal or the user in the service, adatabase into the communication server for the single user can becreated. It is, however, limited usually to the 5 to 10 groups permember in order to keep the system simple. However, the database of thecommunication server can also collect information of the memberships ofthe users. Then all information regarding the user number may becollected to the communication server. A further possibility is that thecommunication server will have e.g. a column information about eachmessaging terminal's key 116 in connection with the user in FIG. 2. Thenthe messaging terminals may call e.g. by key No.1 to the group membersidentified by that number in the register, respectively. The id of thegroup transmitted will then inform the communication server located inSCP or in IP network, which group is concerned.

[0053] The creation of the groups will be presented in the following.Two different kinds of groups can be made: between simple voicemessaging terminals a group can be established. One or several voicemessaging terminals or conventional mobile phones can establish a group.One can buy one, two (or several) terminals or permissions to provide agroup from a supermarket or kiosk, form a group or the group is alreadycreated beforehand for those terminals and start using the terminals ingroup communication immediately. The terminal price may include adefined amount of prepaid communication capacity or it can be paidafterwards in the subscriber invoice. If one of the group members isalready a subscriber of the telecommunications network, he can be billedusing this voice messaging service as he has used his telephone. Thisbill can include all the group messaging services used especially when afamily group is concerned. If the voice messaging terminals for groupmembers have been bought and a prepaid amount of usage time is used,then the user can buy more time in order to further use the voicemessaging terminal. One needs to make a contract with the operator notuntil the prepaid capacity is used.

[0054] In following the actual physical creation of a group will beexplained. In a preferred embodiment creating a group is done byactually getting all terminals (which are to become members of thegroup) together in one single location and then upon joint decisionstarting the necessary actions for creating a messaging groupmaintaining the group feeling even when scattered around. When a groupof terminals is within, say, one room, the inter-terminal communicationneeded for grouping can be arranged based on: short distance wireless(e.g. infrared or radio) or physical contact (galvanic contacts) orcontactless based on inductive, capacitive or optical coupling.

[0055] In FIG. 4 the main steps for forming a group are illustrated byfirst reserving numbers for voice messaging devices in the communicationserver in step 270, selling and buying voice messaging terminals in step272, calling the communication server by at least one of those terminalsin step 274 and informing the group and terminal information to thecommunication server in 276, which may be sent to the server either bymobile terminal of conventional type in step 280 or by voice messagingterminal in step 278. The communication server activates the group ofthe terminals in step 282. Next the terminals can start to communicatewith each other between the predetermined group members in step 284.

[0056]FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram showing how to connect theterminals together in order to create a group. Opening IR port cover instage 240, physically pushing two IR ports against each other entersgroup mode or any similar physical manipulation related to the IR ports.The user points another terminal and presses one of the unassignedbuttons or keys in stage 242. Then the information is transferredbetween the terminals so that the information in the transmissionbetween two terminals includes e.g. the ISDN number, key number, andinformation that a group is to be founded. The information from the lastgroup member will collect all information from the previous members andsend the information to the communication server which then gives to thegroup an identifier and sends that identifier to the terminals in thegroup. The receiving terminal is also put to group mode in stage 244.The receiving terminal indicates that it has been invited to a group bya sound signal and an LED blinking sequence in stage 246. The receiverconfirms the group formation by pressing one of the unassigned buttonsduring a timeout (app. 5 s) in stage 248. The group formation betweenthe two terminals is confirmed by a sound signal and the previously darkLEDs start to shine in stage 250. After a while (app. 30 sec.) theshining LEDs turn dark unless group mode is exited before that in stage252. A specific group mode is not necessary here, as new groups can onlybe assigned to previously unassigned buttons. However, the mode would benecessary for confirmation and for providing information on groupstatus. Due to the newly created group the LEDs shine of the terminal isactivated, one is able to send the link to the third (or the nth,n=integer) terminal. The procedure is identical with the one described,however, there is no need to put the sending terminal to group mode asthe previous operations have already activated the group mode.

[0057] As physical presence within the new group creates a feeling ofunity among common users, this feeling can be enhanced further byactually uniting the group of terminals, too. Physical contact can alsobe used to eliminate a group of user interface functions from the userthus making the grouping process straightforward and robust. Sincecommunication between individual terminals can be arranged at much lowercost from both hardware and software point of view the option ofphysical contact can be preferred over the short distance wirelessalternatives. The main drawback of physical contact based grouping isthe difficulty of handling large groups, i.e. a stack of terminals mayget difficult to handle without any support like a table. It will beunderstood that other solutions like physical contact, magnetic or otheroptical transmissions, contactless transmissions like radio, (e.g.Bluetooth terminal) which can be done e.g. within 10 m radius. Alsovoice recognition based solutions are possible, like using system as inNokia's patent publication EP0959401 relating to voice browsing. Thefunctions like forming a group, sending a message or listening to amessage can be prerecorded and recognised by the terminal when thesecommands are uttered.

[0058]FIG. 6 illustrates the operating principle of physical contactbased terminal grouping. In this example a group of 2-n terminals iscreated. Terminal-1 and terminal-2 forward their identity to terminal-n,which then automatically communicates the newly built group structure tothe communication server over the GSM network e.g. either by utilizingGPRS or SMS (Short Message Service). This action is implemented asself-explanatory as possible, hiding all protocol and GSM relatedcomplexities from the user. When GSM SMS is used, it sets limitations tothe group size as well as lengths of various identifier codes and CRC.One example of a message 300 sent to the communication server in aspecified number address could be as shown in FIG. 7 where the messagehas identifiers FORM and SEND between which the group shall be formedand then the information there are the information which can be seen inthe table of the communication server as in FIG. 2.

[0059] Upon detecting the group forming state a terminal microcontroller(CPU) starts transmitting idle characters, i.e. “please standby”messages to the next terminal in line. This effectively creates abi-directional data path (chain of sensors in one direction and idledata in the other) ensuring that the array remains intact during thegrouping process. The first terminal in line requests its user to inputthe group selection. Once the selection has been given the terminalchanges its local communication channel transmitter to send identitydata rather at regular intervals.

[0060]FIG. 6 illustrates the data flow within an array of terminals whena group is being formed. The first terminal in the array, terminal 1(known to be the first from the fact that it has been connected to aterminal at the front (sensor 42) but it is not receiving data from theback (magnet 40)) keeps transmitting its own identity code T1 (serialnumber, address and/or name) plus a reference to the logical group g1(typically a button code, the communication server needs this data inorder to later send messages assigned to this particular button, icon ortext identifier shown in the terminal user interface) at regularintervals to the next terminal in the array, terminal 2. Terminal 2 addsits own identity T2 and group identifier g2 in the message body andforwards the combined data to terminal 3 and so on. The last terminal n(known to be last in the array by the fact that it is not connected atthe front but it is still receiving valid data at the back) adds its ownidentifiers in the data string and contacts the communication server toofficially form this new group (Group info in FIG. 6). The group may benamed either automatically using the names of the equipment forming thegroup (e.g. name1+name2+ . . . name n) or the user of the terminals canname the group. In the latter case each terminal can then have an ownname for the group (e.g. scouts, football).

[0061] An alternative way to form a group and when a communication linklike Bluetooth is used as a local data transmission channel, the masterof the group forming is selected amongst the terminals (when forming thegroup). When the voice messaging terminals are in the group forming modee.g. a Bluetooth connection is selected from the menu of the display ofthe terminals who want to form the group and who are within the area ofthat radio. After a few seconds the master terminal (having a display)shows the names of the terminals that are to be connected in a list. Theintention is that someone of the users checks if the list is correct).At the bottom of the list there are two rows (alternatives): cancel andaccept. (An example of the display shown in FIGS. 11A, 11B and 11C forsending a message). By pressing the select button when the accept optionis selected the group will be created. In order to communicate betweenthe members of the group outside the range of the Bluetooth radio link(which has about a 10 m range) the information of the group is sent tothe communication server.

[0062] A master terminal can be either voted by the terminals using analgorithm that is similar what is used in token buss type networks. Orthe master can be selected by the location of the terminals. In thiscase e.g. the rightmost terminal (in FIG. 6 the one that detects anotherterminal nextby it on the left hand side, but not on the right handside) is the master.

[0063] Although not shown the data frames need to be equipped withparity or CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) data in order to unwanted groupmembers resulting in data transfer errors.

[0064] After receiving all group forming related data from the new groupmembers terminal n prompts this with special sound, light or other userinterface design enabled method. This is an indication to all users thatthe process is complete and the array may be broken. From this onterminal n alone continues the grouping process with communication tothe communication server.

[0065] Group information may comprise a string of characters or binarydata bytes containing the terminal identifier (typically serial number)and the local group identifier (typically one number or byte of data) ofeach group member, e.g. as shown in FIG. 7. A parity and/or CRC typechecksum may be added to the message to ensure error free communication.The communication server confirms creation of a new messaging group bysending a “new group successfully created” message to each terminalbelonging to the group. Users may start using the group after receivingthe confirmation message.

[0066] Grouping can even be fully automatic procedure if terminal's canonly do one group at a time. The situation is more complex, however, inmost practical cases where the user is given the option of communicatingvoice messages with more than one group.

[0067] When a group of terminals are stacked in an array for groupforming all associated users are expected to manually select thepreferred group option in their individual terminals. In practice thiscan be handled by e.g. tapping a group button according to guidancegiven with indicators (typically LED's or text/graphic on a display).Voice control can also be used, if all terminals' are capable ofidentifying their owners. A terminal can detect presence of othersimilar terminals either through contact sensitive switches, galvaniccontact, bi-directional communication channel polling or contactlesssensing. FIG. 3 shows the magnetic field based contactless method. Useof magnet and sensor (e.g. reed relay, Hall detector) combinationprovides a reliable and yet ESD (Electro Static Discharge), dirt andwater proof means for detection. As bonus one gets a comfortablesnap-hold performance without creating too fragile mechanical lockingstructures in the terminal housing. This is an alternative for detectingsomebody in the vicinity and allow automatic group formation mode.

[0068] An example of terminal local communication channel arrangement ispresented where a communication channel as data transmission channel maybe formed between the terminals e.g. in the situation shown in FIG. 6.The communication channel can be implemented as a single direction pathproviding that the following rules apply: all terminals are arranged inphysically integral array, the last terminal in row (e.g. terminal nthin FIG. 6) gets the responsibility of communicating the groupinformation with the communication server, and successful grouping isinformed to each group member by the communication server. Onestraightforward way of implementing the low-level communication protocolis to use the UART commonly available in microcontrollers. Due to lowamount of data being transferred the data rate need not be very high.Practical data transfer rate with commonly available low pricecomponents is in the area of 1200-19200 bps. There are severalalternatives for implementing the physical communication layer: galvaniccontact, capacitive coupling, inductive coupling, optical coupling.

[0069] Alternatives listed above have very differentcost/performance/reliability implications. The galvanic contact isdefinitely the cheapest to implement, yet it is sensitive to dirt andwater and ESD problems may eventually turn the cost performance upsidedown. Capacitive coupling is not very practical at low data ratesrequired in terminal. Inductive coupling would be ideal for data ratesused in terminal, but unfortunately the number of components requiredfor a reliable interface is beyond practical limits in a consumerelectronics device. At short distances (<1 cm) optical interface (FIG.8) is straightforward and suitable SMD (Surface Mount Device) componentsare readily available. Both visible or invisible (infrared) lightsources may be used as data transmitters. The drawback with this is theterminal casing: transparent windows are needed, thus causing potentialsealing problems.

[0070] Making a group with no one can erase all connections related to abutton, i.e. in group forming mode the user presses the button for e.g.3 s without another terminal with which to communicate. In info mode onecan listen the status of the groups. Status may be checked in like theother messages in communication modes, i.e. by short button presses.Status information includes IDs of group members, number of newmessages, time of last new message and so on. In addition this modeenables the user to delete all new messages without listening, reset thebutton. Prompts such as follows are given “Press the group button todelete all messages in this group” and “Press the group button to leavethe group”. The group-forming mode is exited, when the terminals areseparated form each other.

[0071] The SMS including information about group and group memberinformation may be sent from the terminal, which has the information ofthe other members of the new group, to the communication server. Whenestablishing a connection between the voice messaging terminals the SMSmessage may be sent so that it automatically initiates transmission of amessage through SMS, by establishing automatically a connection to theSMSC (SMSC=Short Message Service Center) and inputting information toSMS that initiates transmission of a message to messaging terminalsthrough the SMS. The information sent in the messages may be aspresented in FIG. 3.

[0072] A mobile originated short message transmission and a mobileterminated short message transmission are defined as different services.Short messages are transmitted from a mobile terminal to the shortmessage center SMSC. These short messages may be directed to othermobile users or to subscribers of a fixed network. Short messages aretransmitted from the short message center SMSC to terminals. These shortmessages may have entered the short message center SMSC from othermobile users or from other sources. The protocol used between the SMSCand the terminals is called SMTP (Short Message Transport Protocol). Theshort message center SMSC is given an ISDN number of its own in thenumbering domain of the GSM network, and using this number the mobileterminal can direct a short message to the SMSC. Further in order toreach the said voice communication server, said number may be specificto the communication server or certain numbers of terminals may bedirected to the voice messaging server services.

[0073] The short message service center SMSC is connected to the voicecommunication server so that it is possible to send messages to thevoice communication server. The connection between the short messagecenter SMSC and the communication server may be similar to that in theexisting short message service centers.

[0074] The transmission and reception of short messages via the GSMconnection are controlled by the SMSC which is connected to thecommunication server in the case SMS messages are preferred. Thefunctionality of the SMSC is to convert a short message received via theGSM connection into the communication server. The communication servercontrols and fetches the members of the group by the identifier. Thedestination addresses are found from the list of the communicationserver as shown in FIG. 2 and short messages including the recorded andcompressed voice message are sent to the group members of the mobileterminals via the GSM connection. The short message center further maycomprise a database in which the messages are stored as well asdifferent parameters, conversion tables, etc. needed by the controlunit. When a mobile user wants to receive information from ancommunication server, he sends a short message, which is, directed (ISDNnumber) to the short message service center SMSC and includes anidentifier, which directly or indirectly indicates the group and the keynumber in question. A direct indication includes the group id, and keynumber and mobile number, for instance.

[0075] The short message is transmitted to the short message center SMSCas a normal mobile originated message. It includes the numbers foridentifying the group members as presented in 300 in FIG. 6 in case thegroup is wanted to be established by the GSM telephone or by the voicemessaging terminal or conventional keypad for dialing digits. Havingreceived the short message SMSC fetches the destination addresses fromthe table on the basis of the group identification code and the SMS hasbeen sent to the destination addresses. The length of a short message islimited, e.g. to 160 characters. The messages longer than this can besent—up to a certain limit—by chaining a few short messages one afteranother. The session control is supported by a database, which maintainsinformation on the user's rights of service, terminal types, serviceprofiles, etc. and on the services of closed groups (e.g. Centrex).

[0076] The communication server can be connected to the mobilecommunication network via standardized interfaces (telecommunicationsand signaling connections).

[0077] The voice messages between terminals of the same group isdescribed in the following. The terminal records a voice message andsends it to the server. The message is listened when it is convenientfor the receiver. FIG. 9 illustrates an alternative of a block diagramof sending a message between the members of an established group. Theuser having a simple voice messaging terminal in the first stage 150presses and holds the key of the predetermined group. The terminal givesa signal that it is ready for recording in stage 152. It can be a singlepeep, by illumination or it can be said e.g. “speak now”. The userspeaks then in the stage 154. If the buffer is full in stage 155, theterminal gives a peep or says “full” in stage 156. Having spoken themessage the user releases the key in stage 158 and the terminal willinform with a different or similar signal that recording is successfulin stage 160. The message may be sent without the user needing to giveany separate ‘send’ command. When the message reaches the server, itbroadcasts the message to each member in the group. The length of themessage to be recorded may be e.g. 30 s. The message can be sent also tothe sender her/himself. However it might easier, if the sender-numberand the destination numbers are compared and decided that if the numbersare the same the message will not be sent the sender. The voicemessaging terminal is designed to enable communication within smallfunctional groups of e.g. 2 to app. 10 people.

[0078] In the following FIG. 10 it is illustrated how the messages canbe listened. A message to be listened is indicated e.g. by a blinkingLED in the terminal and an alarm sound, if necessary. The user can atany moment listen to the next new message or repeat one previouslylistened message. When the voice messaging terminal informs that amessage is received, the LED or other kind of lamp of the terminalusually closest to the key determining the group to the user is blinkingor signal is given in steps 170, 172. In order to listen the message theuser presses the respective button once in step 174. In next step 176the terminal plays the message. After the message is played the endsignal is given or blinking is stopped in step 178. A message signal maybe different for different groups.

[0079] If pressed again while listening to a message, the rest of themessage is skipped and the next message will be played. One previouslylistened message can be repeated. This feature is for being able to e.g.write down numbers or addresses. The message may be listened repeatedly.When the terminal is idle, the key is double pressed. The previouslylistened message is played. After listening end signal is heard.

[0080] The rate of LED blinking may indicate the number of new messages.The faster the rate, the more there are messages. The usage of theterminal may be such that when pressing once the key it is possiblelisten to a new or interrupt message, double pressing causes it possibleto listen to a previous message or from start of a message. By holdingthe key pressed longer it is possible to record a message.

[0081] When somebody leaves the group a system message like “remove”message is sent. The server is contacted by the terminal and theregister will be updated regarding that group. The group may be deletedautomatically in the server, if there is less than 2 members. The lastmembers are informed about this by a system message.

[0082] The server uses the group member information in delivering allmessages to appropriate receivers.

[0083] A single communication server may be used with very differentuser groups (fun vs. work, children vs. elderly etc.) and, similarlyterminals targeted for different customer segments may have verydifferent industrial designs and user interface concepts. In order tomanage this sort of versatility the group forming procedures, associateduser interfaces and communication protocols need to be kept extremelysimple.

[0084] Despite using dedicated keys for every group it is possible toprovide a solution as described below. This is preferred when the datatransmission channel is radio, e.g. Bluetooth. Here is an example of animplementation of message sending using the aid of menus on the displayof the voice messaging terminal. FIGS. 11A, 11B and 11C showschematically of menu selections in the display when the message isprepared for sending to the group. In the examples underlined text marksthe selected row. User can scroll the menus and lists with the arrowkeys. The Key 164 may be a Nokia NaviRoller type scroller key as inNokia 7110 mobile terminal. The keys 62 show an example of keys whichcan help the moves in the menu selection. The display 60 contains thetext information from which the user can select the functions likeSelect or Back 66. Other keys like on/off key are omitted from theFigure.

[0085] Main menu:

[0086] Send message

[0087] Listen message

[0088] Others

[0089] When “Send message” is selected in the list and the user pressesa select button, recording starts and record menu appears:

[0090] Recording ready

[0091] When recording is done a list of recipient groups appears.

[0092] School

[0093] Scouts

[0094] Football

[0095] Pressing the select button now causes the terminal to send therecorded and compressed voice message to the selected group which inthis is identified by the name of Scouts.

[0096] When a message arrives, an alert tone is given and the main menuoption “Listen message” is activated. Pressing select button now startsthe listening of the received message.

[0097] As such, and although the method and apparatus of the presentinvention has been illustrated and described with regard to presentlypreferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that numerousmodifications and substitutions may be made to the embodimentsdescribed, and that numerous other embodiments of the invention may beimplemented, without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined in the following claims. E.g. the stickers can beadded to the keys to inform the group identity. The cover of terminalcan be changed.

1. A method for establishing a group of mobile terminals said methodcomprising: coupling together a number of mobile terminals; initiating agroup creation command from at least one of said terminals by providinginformation including own identity code and a reference of the group toa next terminal in a sequence via at least one coupling consisting ofone of physical contact, magnetic coupling, contactless coupling, andwireless link; adding, at said next terminal, to the informationreceived from the first terminal its own identity code and repeatingthis until a last terminal of the sequence of terminals receives theinformation; collecting all information at said last terminal into agroup information; and transferring said group information to all otherterminals of the group via a low power RF interface (LPRF) connection.2. A method as claimed in claim 1, said method further comprising thesteps of: coupling together the number of terminals by getting togetherthe terminals to a local direct communication distance; and detecting ateach of said terminals that they are in a situation to form a groupbefore initiating said group creation command.
 3. A method as claimed inclaim 1, said method further comprising the step of transmitting saidgroup information from one said terminals to a communication serverconnected to a telecommunication network.
 4. A method as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the mobile terminals are mobile radio terminals.
 5. Amethod as claimed in claim 1, and further comprising upon detecting thegroup forming state: transmitting idle characters messages from terminalto terminal in a sequence, creating a bi-directional data path betweentwo consecutive terminals, causing each terminal to request a user toinput a group creation mode, and upon receiving said input causing theterminal to send identity data to at least one of the terminals that itis having a bi-directional data path with.
 6. A method as claimed inclaim 5, wherein said inputting is done by pressing a certain key onsaid terminal.
 7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein said keyrelates to the formed group.
 8. The method according to claim 1, whereinvisible or invisible (infrared) light sources are used as datatransmitters
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the wirelesscoupling comprises at least one of infrared and radio.
 10. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the physical coupling comprises galvaniccontacts.
 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the contactlesscoupling comprises at least one of inductive coupling, capacitivecoupling, and optical coupling.
 12. The method according to claim 1,wherein each mobile terminal comprises one dedicated illuminated buttonfor each communication group.
 13. The method according to claim 12,wherein stickers are added to each dedicated illuminated buttonidentifying the communication group.
 14. A mobile terminal, the terminalcapable of establishing a group of mobile terminals, the terminalcomprising: means for coupling together a number of mobile terminals;means for selecting an initiator terminal from the number of mobileterminals; means for initiating a group creation command by transmittingown identity code and a reference of the group to a next terminal in asequence if it is determined that said terminal is the initiatorterminal; means for adding to information received from the initiatorterminal its own identity code and forwarding the information to a nextterminal if it is determined that said terminal is an intermediateterminal until a last terminal of the sequence of terminals receives theinformation; means for collecting all information at said terminal, ifit is determined that said terminal is the last terminal of the sequenceof terminals, into a group information; and means for transferring saidgroup information to all other terminals of said group.
 15. A terminalas claimed in claim 14, said terminal further comprising the steps of:coupling together the number of terminals by getting together theterminals to a local direct communication distance; and detecting ateach of said terminals that they are in a situation to form a groupbefore initiating said group creation command.
 16. A terminal as claimedin claim 14, said terminal further comprising the step of transmittingsaid group information from one said terminals to a communication serverconnected to a telecommunication network.
 17. A terminal as claimed inclaim 14, wherein the mobile terminals are mobile radio terminals.
 18. Aterminal as claimed in claim 14, wherein the step of coupling theterminals together comprises coupling by a wireless link or physicalcontact.
 19. A terminal as claimed in claim 14, and further comprisingupon detecting the group forming state: means for transmitting idlecharacters messages from said terminal to a terminal in a sequence,creating a bi-directional data path between two consecutive terminals,and means for causing a terminal to request a user to input a groupcreation mode, and upon receiving said input causing the terminal tosend identity data to at least one of the terminals that it is having abi-directional data path with.
 20. A terminal as claimed in claim 19,wherein said inputting is done by pressing a certain key on saidterminal.
 21. A terminal as claimed in claim 20, wherein said keyrelates to the formed group.